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Filipino farmers destroy GM crops designed to alleviate malnutrition

A group of 400 protestors has stormed a field filled with test crops of vitamin A-delivering Golden Rice in the Philippines, in protest at the genetically modified food industry it sees as being driven by foreign interests.

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The attack in the country's Bicol region has been referred to as being waged by "militant farmers", but was carried out by SIKWAL-GMO, which is made up of farmers, students, academics and other members of the public. Together, they destroyed 1,000 square metres of the crop, which is designed to benefit poorer populations suffering from malnutrition.

Spokesperson for SIKWAL-GMO Bert Autor was reported in Filipino newspaper Remate as saying: "Golden Rice is not an answer to the country's problem on hunger and malnutrition." Autor referred to the trials as "clandestine", but the groups behind them -- the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and local group the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) -- have been openly discussing their progress and announced a week ago they were nearly ready to submit the rice to national regulators for evaluation.

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Golden Rice was first developed in the 90s by Ingo Potrykus of the Institute for Plant Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Peter Beyer of the University of Freiburg, Germany.

The rice has added genes that stimulate the plant's production of beta carotene, which the human body converts into vitamin A. The idea was to supplement this rice for ordinary rice in poorer communities where the average diet is largely made up of starchy foods. According to a 2009 report in

Malaria Journal which refers to largescale vitamin A trials, ensuring the substance is included in a child's diet reduces mortality rates by 23-34 percent. PhilRice has been carrying out test trials to see how the crops fair to ensure farmers will get the same yield, pest resistance and grain quality in the same growing environments, according to a statement sent to Wired.co.uk by the IRRI. The body added that one cup a day of Golden Rice would provide an adult with half their daily vitamin A needs.

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"Farmers would be able to grow it like other rice and it won't cost them any extra, and it would not cost consumers extra either.

Golden Rice will be available to farmers and consumers only after it has been determined to be safe for humans, animals, and the environment and authorised for propagation and consumption by the appropriate regulatory authorities. Therefore, Golden Rice, if and when released, will be as safe as other rice."

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Opponents do not agree. Arguments range from, "it's bad for human health and biodiversity", to accusations that the uptake and interest in GM crops is largely down to interfering foreign interests. In 2012 it was revealed that Golden Rice was being trialled with school children, without the proper forms of consent (it was left out that the rice was genetically modified), and Autor cites this as evidence that there are plenty of dubious practices surrounding the propagation of the crop.

Vitamin A deficiency is a devastating problem for young children and pregnant and nursing women in the Philippines Bruce Tolentino, IRRI "Agrochemical TNCs, which are protected and abetted by the US government, gained millions of profit from GMOs even at the expense of the health and livelihood of Filipino farmers and consumers," said Autor. "They don't care if it's unsafe, as long as they get their profit. Such is the fate of GM corn farmers. Farmers who shifted to GM corn farming suffered the most, as the price of GM seeds and other inputs skyrocketed. The farmers are now in debt, most of them lose their land to corn traders because they are unable to pay. Once Golden Rice is commercialised, this will only lead to the privatisation of our rice. Agrochemical TNCs have been waiting for this opportunity, to finally control the rice seed industry. This would mean more profit to them, as rice is the staple of Filipinos and the people of Asia."

IRRI, however, maintains its goals are pure. "Vitamin A deficiency is a devastating problem for young children and pregnant and nursing women in the Philippines," Bruce Tolentino, Deputy Director General for Communications and Partnerships at the IRRI, tells Wired.co.uk. "It causes children to get sick, go blind, and even die. Vitamin A deficiency affects 1.7 million children (15.2 percent) in the Philippines and 33.5 percent of pre-school children worldwide -- far too many. Vitamin A deficiency is horrible and unnecessary, and we want to do our part to help to reduce it."

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Tolentino states that although the kind of social awareness campaigns and supplement delivery programmes that Autor would like are effective, they are not nearly as effective as what Golden Rice offers. "Many people live in areas that are difficult to reach and as a result, the most vulnerable are often missed," he says. He emphasises that all the trials are given the go ahead by the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry for the Philippines, only after having been deemed safe.

The idea, they say, is not to replace an industry that is working well for local farmer, just the seed they're using. "Breeders at PhilRice and Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) are developing Golden Rice versions of existing rice varieties that are popular with local farmers," an IRRI spokesperson told Wired.co.uk. "The new varieties would produce beta carotene while still having the same yield, pest resistance, and grain qualities as before. Golden Rice seeds are expected to cost farmers the same as other rice varieties and they will be able to save and replant the seed season after season. Cooking and taste tests will be done to help make sure that Golden Rice meets consumers' needs and preferences."

The fact that Golden Rice was given the go ahead to be trialled in the Philippines in the first place suggests the authorities have some degree of faith in the product. The country is generally GM-adverse, and earlier this year rejected an application involving a type of aubergine that would be resistant to pests.